Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG) Price Target Raised to $67.00 at Morgan Stanley

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) had its target price raised by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $65.00 to $67.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "underweight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's target price suggests a potential downside of 12.42% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $91.00 target price on shares of Principal Financial Group in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Principal Financial Group from $80.00 to $76.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Principal Financial Group from $68.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Principal Financial Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $95.00 to $92.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Principal Financial Group in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $93.00 price objective on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.46.

Principal Financial Group Stock Performance

PFG traded down $0.06 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $76.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 177,580 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,303,993. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $79.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.49. The firm has a market cap of $17.15 billion, a PE ratio of 11.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.01. Principal Financial Group has a one year low of $68.39 and a one year high of $91.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Principal Financial Group (NYSE:PFG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.02). Principal Financial Group had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 9.74%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Principal Financial Group will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Principal Financial Group

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,466,587 shares of the company's stock valued at $422,074,000 after buying an additional 52,410 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Principal Financial Group by 802.2% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,707,534 shares of the company's stock valued at $312,805,000 after purchasing an additional 3,296,608 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Principal Financial Group by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,662,918 shares of the company's stock valued at $283,546,000 after purchasing an additional 326,604 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Principal Financial Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $217,021,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Principal Financial Group by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,462,562 shares of the company's stock valued at $211,534,000 after purchasing an additional 118,722 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.08% of the company's stock.

About Principal Financial Group

Principal Financial Group, Inc provides retirement, asset management, and insurance products and services to businesses, individuals, and institutional clients worldwide. The company operates through Retirement and Income Solutions, Principal Asset Management, and Benefits and Protection segments. The Retirement and Income Solutions segment provides retirement, and related financial products and services.

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